Back to basic exercise: Push-ups, squats hot again

Fitness fads from Zumba to spin classes come and go, but push-ups never go out of style. The same goes for squats, pull-ups, crunches and planks.

So how can such body-weight exercises – basic moves that make you push, pull or otherwise carry your own weight – be the biggest fitness trend of 2015?

The answer is that these fitness basics are "low cost, low maintenance," and they work for everyone from exercise newbies to fitness pros, says Walter Thompson, a professor of kinesiology and health at Georgia State University. Thompson is the author of an annual report on worldwide fitness trends from the American College of Sports Medicine.

The report for 2015, based on a survey of 3,403 fitness professionals, predicts that body weight exercises will be the top trend for the year, just outpacing last year's leader, high-intensity interval training – short intense bursts of exercise with rest or less intense moves in between. The trends are related: high-intensity work-outs, such as CrossFit, typically include lots of body weight moves. So do other popular workouts, such as boot camp classes.

The focus on basic exercise is partly a matter of the economy, Thompson says. In recent years, he says, health clubs and fitness centers have steered away from offerings that require fancy equipment or highly specialized instructors.

"If you drill down to body weight training, it's the same exercise program people have been doing for centuries," Thompson says. "But now health clubs are packaging it."

Indeed, the 24 Hour Fitness chain, with more than 400 locations, has just introduced a small-group personal training class that consists mostly of body weight exercises, says Jason Stella, the company's vice president for fitness.

The first classes are designed for "someone who has not worked out in a long time or is a complete newbie," he says. More challenging versions and versions aimed at other specific groups – from older people to triathletes – will come later, he says.

Gold's Gym also has a new focus on body weight moves at its 400-plus U.S. locations. As of this month, new members are put through a 10-minute fitness test consisting of push-ups, squats, crunches, a bench step, pull-ups for men and flex-arm hangs for women, says Jeff Na, the company's vice president for fitness. The test, meant to be repeated over time, also is available free online at strength-exchange.goldsgym.com/fit-test/.

The body-weight focus is based on the latest exercise science, but also the old-fashioned idea that fitness is built with functional movements – the same kind you use to sit and stand, lift and move objects, and get safely and smoothly through the day, Na says.

As you raise the number and quality of push-ups, crunches or squats you can do, "your fitness improves," plain and simple, he says.

Interest in back-to-basic moves has been driven by the most fit and athletic gym-goers – people who want a highly effective, efficient workout – Na says.

That does not mean serious strength-trainers have given up their barbells and machines. Many experienced lifters use body-weight exercises to improve their form and to keep heart rates up between lifting sets, says Jen Hoehl, a personal trainer at Crunch Union Square in New York.

But body weight training is especially important as a first step for people new to strength-training, she says: "It's important to master the movement before you add weight to it."

Perfect push-ups?

The push-up holds a special place in fitness lore: Think of Jack LaLanne doing them from his fingertips, Jack Palance going one-armed at the Oscars, or Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres battling it out in classic plank position in their 2012 contest.

But you can do an effective push-up without starting from that position – up on your hands and toes – or adding any tricks, says Neal Pire, an exercise physiologist at HNH Fitness, a medical fitness center in Oradell, NJ.

Many people cannot keep their body aligned in a full plank, he says. For them, it's better to start on the knees. If that's too hard, do push-ups against the wall, he suggests. After a while, try your knees again and then your toes.

"Typically, you will be able to get to that in some kind of progression, whether it takes six weeks, six months or six years," Pire says.

And if the classic push-up gets too easy? Pire likes the one-footed variation. Get into the plank position, lift a foot and start your push-ups; repeat on the other foot. You get an upper-body workout with an added "rotational load" for your hips, back and deep abdominal muscles, he says.